


The Other Valley

by SexuallyMonsterous (Alli_Bialystock)



Category: Silicon Valley (TV)
Genre: Angst, Death/Suicide Mentions Later On, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Erlich Whump, Homophobia, I just love seeing my garbage baby sad, M/M, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-08
Updated: 2015-12-11
Packaged: 2018-04-30 14:37:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 12,606
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5167517
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alli_Bialystock/pseuds/SexuallyMonsterous
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Erlich's father passes away, he invites Richard to come to the funeral with him in Napa Valley, and Richard gets a firsthand look at how Erlich became Erlich.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Phone Call

**Author's Note:**

> I'll be honest, I've never been anywhere west of Michigan at all (pretty much all of my traveling has been localized to Michigan and parts of Canada), so I'm probably totally fuckbotching certain facts about Napa Valley, including the culture. Pretty much everything I write about the area is based on my impressions of my pretentious cousin who lives there, so I'm sorry that there are likely going to be a lot of things wrong. Let me know if anything should be changed!

It was around five in the afternoon when Richard, having wandered from the kitchen to the living room to the work table, asked, “Hey, where’s Erlich?”

Dinesh and Gilfoyle both glanced around with vague interest. “No idea,” Gilfoyle said, turning back to his computer and taking a sip of his beer. 

“Have you guys seen him at all today?”

“No.” Dinesh paused. “Wow, this has actually been a pretty great day for me.”

Richard rolled his eyes. He wanted to argue with Dinesh, but ever since he’d been removed as the CEO of Pied Piper, he’d lost some of his fight. The idea of arguing with his former employee and giving Dinesh the opportunity to remind him how far he’d fallen was a little bit more than his pride could take. Instead, he went to Erlich’s bedroom. He raised his hand to knock on the door, but stopped when he heard Erlich’s voice.

“Well why didn’t you call me three days ago, then?” Erlich sounded like it was consuming all of his willpower to stay calm. Richard had never heard him show any restraint, let alone this much. “I know it’s been busy, but… Yes, of course, but… I realize it’s a shock, I’m shocked too! Although perhaps I might not be so shocked if you had called when this had happened…” Erlich sighed. “I know. I know. I’m sorry. So what is it that you need me to do?” Richard heard Erlich begin pacing around the room. “Okay. Of course… Not a problem…” Another sigh. “Mother, I’m on the board of directors. I can take time of when I want.” There was a long pause. The pacing became slightly more frantic. “I’m not sure that that’s a great idea, Mother. Doesn’t that seem a little… tasteless? … Yes, Mother, I’m aware that Father prided himself on business first and foremost, but still… I know it’s a good networking opportunity, but it just might be a little strange… Okay, Mother, I’ll ask him. I’ll talk to you soon.” A quiet thump told Richard that Erlich had just tossed his phone down. 

Richard knocked softly. “Hey, Erlich?”

There was a muffled groan from inside. “What?”

“Is everything okay?” 

After a moment, the door opened. At first, Richard assumed he was high, but he realized that the redness in Erlich’s eyes weren’t accompanied by the usual glazed expression or smell of skunk weed. After a moment, he realized that Erlich had recently been crying. His hair was an even wilder mess than usual and his kimono was untidy and rumpled, but his posture was as defiant as usual. “Things are fine. Family emergency.”

“Oh shit.” Richard felt a familiar tumble in his stomach. He could barely manage to talk to anyone when they were upset, much less someone like Erlich. “Is it – I mean – are you – what happened?” 

“My father died on Wednesday.”   
“Oh. Fuck.” Richard’s anxiety intensified. “I’m really sorry, Erlich.”

“It’s fine.” Erlich’s voice was steady and controlled. “But the funeral is in a few days and my family wants me to come down tomorrow.”

“Yeah, that makes sense.” Richard shuffled awkwardly. “Is there anything I can do? Like, to help?”

Erlich sighed deeply. “Actually, yes. Will you come with me? I know it’s weird,” he said, holding up a hand to cut Richard off. “My mother suggested it. My parents have always been in good with a lot of different investors and she thought it would be a good way for us to promote Pied Piper.”

“… At a funeral?”

“Richard, they live in Napa Valley. Any time is a good time for promotion.”

Richard nodded even though he didn’t really understand. “But… I’m not on the board anymore.”

“For now, yeah,” Erlich shrugged, apparently completely unconcerned. “But my parents don’t know that. And people are going to be a lot more interested in talking to the developer than some Raviga shithead like Laurie.” 

“Okay.” Richard chewed at his lower lip. “Do you want me to go?”

“I don’t give a shit. A funeral’s a funeral either way. But it will keep my family from bitching if you show up.”

“Okay. Then yeah, sure. I’ll go with you.”

“Great. You should get packed. We’re leaving tomorrow at noon. And Richard?”

“Yeah?”

Erlich grabbed the frayed cuff of Richard’s hoodie. “Bring clothes that makes you look like you’ve hit puberty.”


	2. The Drive

Once Richard heard the words “Napa Valley,” he figured that he and Erlich were going to have to clean up a little bit before they left, but he was stunned when he walked into the kitchen the next morning. “Holy shit, Erlich!”

“What?” Erlich swallowed another spoonful of yogurt. “Jesus, Richard, tuck in your shirt. We’re going to Napa, not fucking space camp.” 

Richard hurried to tuck in his button-up, still staring at Erlich. He looked like an entirely different person. Gone was the obnoxious facial hair and food-stained HTML shirts. Instead, Erlich was neatly shaved, dressed in a polo and khakis, and had even apparently slicked down his normally untamed mane of hair. He reminded Richard of the kind of guys his mom always wanted him to look like at church.

Erlich checked his watch (when the fuck did he get a watch?). “I hope you’re packed. We need to swing by the rental place first.”

“What rental place?”

“Car rental.” Erlich tossed his spoon towards the sink. He didn’t seem to notice that it bounced off of the counter and onto the floor. “Are you ready?”

“Uh, yeah.” Richard followed Erlich outside. “But why are we renting a car? You already have one.”

Erlich snorted. “Trust me, Richard. The Aviatomobile isn’t exactly Napa material.”

As Richard buckled himself in, he couldn’t help but think about how bizarre this whole situation was. Even hearing Erlich describe things as “Napa material” was strange. Richard had essentially no idea what was or wasn’t “Napa,” but he was pretty sure that Erlich wasn’t it. 

Erlich and Richard piled their bags into the back of a pristine Honda Accord. “So what’s with the new look?” Richard asked once they were on the road, unable to contain his curiosity any longer. “You look like an L.L. Bean ad or something. Or Jared.”

Erlich glared. “I don’t look like Jared,” he snapped. “I happen to be dressed much better, thank you. He probably shops at Yonkers. This, I will have you know –“ he gestured to his polo – “is Nordstrom.” 

“Okay. But why are you wearing it?”

Erlich was silent for a moment. Richard was starting to wonder whether or not he’d heard him when he said, “Richard, what I’m going to tell you is important, okay?”

“Um. Okay.”

“My family and I aren’t the closest,” Erlich continued. He stared straight ahead at the road. “I haven’t seen them in a while, and there are just certain things that are expected of a Bachmann. So need you to just follow my lead this week. Don’t talk about the hostel or the state of Pied Piper or anything like that. When in doubt, just shut up and let me do the talking.”

Richard seriously doubted that he would have any trouble following these guidelines.

“To be perfectly honest…” Erlich hesitated. His eyes flickered briefly over Richard. “Even though my mother wanted you to come, I’m actually glad that you agreed. I might need a buffer once in a while.”

“Okay. That’s cool.” Richard didn’t say “you’re welcome,” just as Erlich hadn’t said “thank you,” but there was the comfort of unspoken understanding hovering between them. Richard watched trees and hills rush by the window and told himself that the seizing of his stomach was just motion sickness. After all, they were going to Napa Valley. How bad could that possibly be?


	3. Meet the Bachmanns

Richard’s jaw dropped when he glanced up from his phone and saw the driveway that they were pulling into. “Holy shit, what is this place?” 

“My family’s house.” 

Richard just stared. Erlich seemed way, way too calm about their surroundings for his taste. To their right was a massive expanse of trees filled with ripe, bright fruit. To their left was a personal golf course, a manmade pond, and lush, fenced-in garden. Right ahead was the biggest mansion that Richard had ever seen up close, and he could tell that even more laid behind it. “Wow. This is insane. Your parents must be loaded.”

“I told you they have a lot of business connections.” Erlich, who normally took every possible opportunity to gloat about even the smallest bit of success, looked uncharacteristically gloomy. As they neared the front of the house, Erlich’s face twisted into a snarl and he smacked at the wheel. “Mother fuck!”

“What?”

“My little brother beat us here. Goddammit.” He parked behind a Maserati. “Fucking Hayworth.” 

Richard had to fight back a smirk. “Hayworth?”

“It’s an old family name. My parents loved naming their kids after dead people. Where the fuck do you think they got ‘Erlich’ from?”

“Fair enough.” Richard pawed anxiously at his curls. Even though he was wearing some of the nicest clothes he owned, he still felt underdressed. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been so nervous to meet anybody’s parents.

_Stop,_ Richard told himself sternly. _Don’t think like that. Erlich is your fucking landlord. Don’t make this weird._

In spite of his frequent reminders not to “make this weird,” Richard had been needing to concentrate more and more vigilantly on that exact task. And it didn’t help that Erlich cleaned up way better than expected, wasn’t dressed like a community college philosophy professor, and didn’t currently smell powerfully of weed and Ramen noodles.

_His dad just fucking died! Jesus, Richard, concentrate!_

“Don’t answer any questions,” Erlich warned him as they knocked on the front door. “My brother is going to be asking you all kinds of things, but don’t say anything. Seriously, not a fucking word. Just pretend you’re mute.”

“Alright, Erlich, Christ,” Richard murmured.   
The door flew open. A short, stocky woman with severe features answered the door in a black dress and an apron. When she looked up at Erlich, her scowl melted into a grin. “Erlich!” Her voice was surprisingly sweet and carried a faint Russian accent. “Zajka! Welcome home!” 

For the first time that day, Erlich seemed to relax. “Hi, Galina.” He leaned down to give her a hug, and she patted him on the back. “It’s good to see you.”

“It’s good to see you too,” she said, “but I wish it was for a different reason.”

Erlich’s smile faltered. “Yeah. Me too.” He glanced into the hall. “Where is everyone?”

“They’re all in the sitting room.” Galina waved them in. “Come, come. And who is this?” She pointed at Richard with sudden interest. Richard noticed a faint excitement about her.

Richard must have been imagining it, because there was no way he just saw Erlich blush.

“This is Richard, my partner. Business partner,” he added awkwardly. “He’s the CEO of Pied Piper.”

Galina smiled slyly at Erlich and grabbed Richard’s hand. “It’s so nice to meet you, Richard.” She tapped at his wrist. “We’re going to need to feed you this week.” 

“She’s nice,” Richard murmured to Erlich as Galina strode off briskly in the opposite direction, still glancing occasionally over her shoulder at the two. “Who is she?”

“She was my nanny. My parents kept her on as their primary housekeeper when my brother and I left home.”

Jesus. Erlich’s nanny. Richard felt the strange compulsion to go apologize to her.

The two walked down a long hallways with brightly polished walnut floors and tapestries hung along the walls. Every so often a lone vase on a stand stood sentry along the walls. Richard had never realized that there were people who actually lived like this. He had always assumed that these types of things were exaggerated cinematic flourishes in movies about the absurdly wealthy. He wondered vaguely what Chinese era the vases were from.

A painting halfway down the hall caught Richard’s eye and he stopped. “Oh my fucking God. Erlich.” He pointed. “Is that a portrait?”

The painting was massive and showed two men, two women, and one dog. One of the men was young and handsome, with a jaw cut diamond-perfect and hair similar to but not unruly as Erlich’s. Beside him stood a young woman with long blonde hair, sapphire eyes and blindingly white teeth, hanging off the man’s arm and clutching a fussy Pomeranian under her other arm. Seated in front of the two were an austere older couple. The man had a bushy mustache and a perfectly pressed suit. The woman’s hair was pulled into such a tight bun that Richard winced on her behalf.  
Erlich glanced at the painting. “Oh, what the fuck?” he muttered, frowning. He looked at the painting in disgust. “They fucking changed it!”

“What?”

“The portrait! The family portrait!” Erlich pointed unnecessarily at the massive canvas. “They had a new one painted without me!”

Richard shuffled from foot to foot. He wanted to offer condolences, but he wasn’t sure what the social protocol was for comforting someone after their rich family had painted them out of their massive, money-wasting shrine to arrogance. “That sucks,” he said lamely.

Erlich closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “Yeah, well, I’m not fucking surprised,” he grumbled. He ground his teeth together. Richard had to imagine that after years of saying whatever he wanted whenever he wanted, this amount of self-control required Buddha-like patience. The two stayed still for a second, Erlich grinding away and trying to look anywhere but the portrait, Richard still and skittish as a deer in headlights. He watched Erlich’s expression melt from rage to annoyance to bitter indifference. “Sitting room’s up here,” he said in monotone, and he led Richard down the hallway and through a large, heavy door.

Inside was a room that Richard would only have described as “Downton Abbey-esque.” The room was illuminated by wall-length windows. The floor was covered with a rug that was almost certainly from a country that no longer existed. Throughout the room were spindly chairs and understuffed couches that looked tasteful and elegant in an old-world way but looked incredibly uncomfortable for actual use. Richard immediately recognized the three people in the room as the three from the portrait.

The old woman looked up. “Erlich, darling.” She lifted a small, thin hand in greeting.

“Hello, Mother.” He walked to her and kissed her on the cheek before retreating to Richard’s side.

“Erlich.” The young man smirked from his position on a couch beside the beautiful blonde and the currently purse-encased Pomeranian.

“Hayworth. Jessica.” Erlich didn’t even bother to wave.

Silence began to creep back into the room, broken only by the occasional sound of sipping and clinking china. “Is this Mr. Hendricks?” Mrs. Bachmann finally asked. She looked Richard up and down. He could tell she found something about him insufficient. 

“Yes, Richard Hendricks. He’s the CEO of Pied Piper.”

“Pied Piper?” Hayworth asked politely. There was an edge to his smile that made even Richard feel accosted. 

“You know the one,” Erlich said, evidently impatient. “The highly successful compression company. You know, the one that I’m a board member of.”

“Oh, right!” Hayworth drawled. “Of course! The one that got sued.”

“The one that won a lawsuit against Hooli?” Erlich’s voice was cold. “That’s the one.”

Richard already wanted desperately to leave. He gave a weak smile as Erlich introduced his family. 

“Everyone else should be coming tomorrow,” Mrs. Bachmann said, sipping at her tea. Richard sat on one of the hard couches. Erlich sat in a spindly chair several seats away, leaving Richard feeling vulnerable and somehow infectious. “The visitation will be the following day from four to eight in the southern ballroom, and then the next day will be the funeral and the memorial at noon. I imagine some of the family and friends will stay for brunch the next day.” She discussed her husband’s funeral the way Richard would have explained lunch plans. It almost sounded like a vacation.

The room went silent once more. “Is-Is the funeral home nearby?” Richard was already a wreck at making conversation in average circumstances, and it was even worse now. It didn’t get any better when he saw the surprise on Mrs. Bachmann’s tight face.

“Funeral home? No, we don’t really do that,” she sniffed. “We have a small chapel on the estate. Our pastor will be performing all necessary services there or in the home. The memorial will be at the country club down the street.” 

Richard nodded, but the entire idea had flown over his head. Who doesn’t “do funeral homes?” What could that even mean?

“So, Richard,” Jessica simpered, absentmindedly stroking the head of the miserable Pomeranian, “how are things at Pied Piper?”

“Um.” Richard saw Erlich’s eyes widen meaningfully out of the corner of his eye. “Good.”

Jessica nodded, urging Richard to continue. He didn’t.

“We had a long drive,” Erlich lied, standing. “I think we should probably go unpack and everything.” 

“Alright, darling.” Richard couldn’t figure out how Mrs. Bachmann managed to make the word “darling” sound so cold. “Buzz Consuela if you’re feeling peckish. Dinner will be at six. You’re welcome to join us in the garden or the squash courts later this evening, if you’re so inclined.”

“Uh-huh.” Erlich seemed to be in physical pain from holding in all of his comments. He shut the door a little too loudly behind him. “Jesus Christ.”

“Yeah. Wow.” Richard followed Erlich back down the long hallway and up a grand flight of marble stairs. “So that’s your family? Is there something wrong?”

“You mean other than my dad being dead?” 

“I mean between you guys.”

Erlich shrugged it off. “There’s always something wrong between us.” He gestured down a hall on the third floor. “This was my wing when I lived at home. You can stay in whichever room.”

“Sorry, your wing? You had your own wing?”

“Yeah. But it’s only four bedrooms and a bath. Hayworth got eight bedrooms, a bath, and a half bath, the little fuck.”

Richard assumed that if he were rich enough to understand, he would be equally outraged. 

To call them “bedrooms” was a bit of an understatement. Each was the size of at least three of the hostel’s bedrooms combined. “These two are connected to the bathroom,” Erlich mentioned, waving at two doors. “I’d consider taking one of those so you don’t wander around the halls in your underwear and freak out the maid.”

“I’m not gonna walk around in my underwear, Erlich!” Richard said, mildly offended.

“Richard, I live with you. I see you in your underwear all the time.” Erlich looked suddenly uncomfortable. “I mean, not that I pay attention to you being in your underwear, obviously. I just noticed it. Casually. I just casually noticed it.”

Richard was starting to feel embarrassed purely on Erlich’s behalf (which, to be perfectly honest, was a pretty nice change of pace from feeling constantly embarrassed by himself). “Uh, yeah. I-I know. It’s… fine.”

Erlich ran a hand over his face. “Shit. I’m sorry. I know I’m acting like a complete fucking lunatic. My family just brings out a different side of me, I guess.”

“Yeah.” Richard thought back to Hayworth’s smirk. “That makes sense.”

“Anyway, I think I’m going to grab a quick nap or something,” Erlich continued. “Get some fucking peace before we have to have dinner with these assholes.” He opened a bedroom door and started inside. Feeling intensely aware of the unfamiliar surroundings, Richard made a move to dart into his chosen bedroom, but he was stopped by Erlich’s voice. “And Richard?”

“Yeah?”

“Could you… wait for me? To go downstairs?” Richard didn’t have to see Erlich’s face to know he was cringing at himself. “I know it’s weird. I just hate being in this house alone.”

And there it was, that swell of affection that only Erlich seemed capable of eliciting in Richard at the strangest moments. Buttefly wings added to the tumultuous landscape of his stomach. “Yeah, of course. I’ll wait for you.”


	4. Family Dinner

Richard couldn't believe how long it took just to walk to the family dining room (not only that, but Erlich had to explain what, exactly, a "family dining room" is). Just moving from one room to another in this house could take a good fifteen minutes. Every so often, Erlich would point things out: a Ming vase, a large framed photo of his great-grandfather, even a musket that had supposedly been used in the Civil War. ("Yeah, I had family that supplied artillery in the Civil War," Erlich said proudly. "I mean, not on the side you'd want them to be on, but it's still pretty rad.")

Even though it was described as the “more intimate dining room,” it felt inexplicably cold. The table was long, the six chairs surrounding it uncomfortably far apart, and a chandelier hung like an axe above it. The table was set with linens and more silverware than Richard could even pretend to know what to do with. As they entered, Galina and two other women wheeled a tray of platters to the table and began setting them up, portioning food onto each plate. Richard noticed that Erlich was the only one to thank them when they walked back to the kitchen.

Mrs. Bachmann, sitting at the head of the table, glanced over Richard as he sat down. Self-consciously, he scooted slightly closer to Erlich.

“So, Rich,” Hayworth began, but he was quickly cut off by Erlich.

“His name is Richard.”

Hayworth rolled his eyes. “I’m sorry, _Richard._ We didn’t really get to talk earlier. My brother doesn’t like to introduce us to his… _friends._ ” Richard saw Jessica giggle. Something about the way Hayworth spoke always made it sound like he had a secret that no one else knew. “How did you and Erlich meet?”

Erlich went to answer, but Richard, almost against his own volition, beat him to the punch with a burst of inspiration. “I met him through Aviato,” Richard said, sounding surprisingly confident. “I was really impressed by it and figured he’d be the guy to help me start Pied Piper.”

Hayworth and Jessica both laughed. Even Mrs. Bachmann’s tight face was pulled into a rueful smile. Erlich sank down in his chair.

“No, you didn’t,” Hayworth said simply, grinning. “No one’s heard of Aviato.”

“That’s not true,” Erlich argued. His ears were turning red. 

“Did he tell you that he was some kind of household name?” Hayworth asked. “Paid millions for his ingenious creation?”

Richard cleared his throat. “Well, um, not…” 

“Let me illuminate it for you,” Hayworth continued. “Erlich spent forever and a day working on this ridiculous idea while he languished around my parents’ home, gladly siphoning away their resources and adamantly refusing to go back to college. Until, that is, the day my father decided that enough was enough and paid Erlich enough for Aviato to get him out of his home and out of his hair.” He smirked at Erlich. “And I’m sure that he’s been spending our father’s money so very wisely.”

“I left home because I wanted to leave home,” Erlich growled. “And our father would never have given me that money if Aviato wasn’t a decent idea. He didn’t make poor investments. Not that that’s anything you’d know about.”

Hayworth went red and Jessica scowled. “I happen to be very successful.”

“You happen to have taken all of our money from our parents because you ended up declaring bankruptcy. Twice.” Erlich crossed his arms over his chest. “Even with a Harvard degree, you somehow managed to screw up being a professional heir to a massive fortune. So I don’t think you’re really the one to judge my business acumen.”

“Boys, please,” Mrs. Bachmann said half-heartedly. 

The brothers were silent, glaring daggers across the table at each other. Jessica had put a protective hand on Hayworth’s arm. 

“I was just wondering, Richard,” Hayworth said, still staring at his brother, “where you met. I just assumed it was at Camp Willhelm.”

Jessica snorted with laughter. “Hayworth,” Mrs. Bachmann said, and this time her voice was sharp as steel. Hayworth smirked in satisfaction.

Richard chanced a quick look at Erlich. Erlich’s jaw was tight. He stabbed through his chicken with a frightening intensity. Richard had seen Erlich angry before – indignant anger was usually his default setting – but never like this. He looked ready to launch himself across the table. He could be absolutely terrifying when he yelled and raged, but there was something much scarier to Richard about the cold restraint he was seeing then.

Richard wanted to jump to Erlich’s defense, but he didn’t have a clue how. He started nervously shoveling balsamic green beans into his mouth. The tension was so stomach-churning that he didn’t even worry whether or not he was using the correct fork. 

“So, how _did_ you two meet, Richard?” Jessica asked sweetly.

“Mutual business connections,” Erlich grunted.

“Which ones?”

Richard gulped down a mouthful of food. “Nelson Bighetti. Hooli’s head dreamer. He had an app that he wanted Erlich to invest in.”

“Oh, of course! That’s right!” Hayworth beamed. “I almost forgot about Nip Alert!”

Mrs. Bachmann frowned. “What?” She turned to Erlich. “What on earth is that?”

“How the hell do you know about Nip Alert?!” Erlich’s anger was starting to billow into the familiar flame. Richard continued eating as quickly as possible. 

Hayworth waved his hand. “A friend of mine is on Hooli’s legal defense team, and he graciously shared some choice tidbits about the arbitration. Nip Alert,” he explained to his mother, “is an application that allows the user to find the location of a woman with erect nipples. Your son was apparently very interested in backing it. While being stoned, of course.”

“Erlich!” Mrs. Bachmann frowned. “That is positively disgusting. How low-brow.”

“Like Father always said, consumers are idiots,” Erlich said bluntly. “You have to pander to the lowest common denominator to make money. Maybe if you’d remembered that, Hayworth, you wouldn’t have sunk twenty Goddamn million dollars into a business that sold puppy-killing dog collars.”

“There was no indication that they were unsafe!”

“They were made of platinum! What could you possibly expect?!” 

“I also heard that there was quite a revelation at the arbitration,” Hayworth said, voice shaking. “Is it true that you declared yourself to be, and I’m quoting, Richard’s girlfriend?”

Mrs. Bachmann dropped her fork, looking aghast. Hayworth’s eyes glinted with triumph. 

Richard expected Erlich to blow up, but was stunned when he saw a look of panic on his face. “No,” Erlich spluttered. “No, that’s not – no. That’s a total misrepresentation.”

“Are you saying you didn’t say it?”

“No. I mean yes. I mean – it was a tactic! I had to lie to discredit evidence! They were trying to use Richard’s emails about his girlfriend – his computer…” He looked desperately at his mother. “It was just a stupid lie that I told because I was worried we were going to lose!”

Mrs. Bachmann stood and smoothed her dress. “I’m afraid I’ve quite lost my appetite,” she said coldly. “I think I’m going to retire to my wing for the night.”

“Mother.” Erlich jumped out of his chair. “Mother, I’m being completely serious. It was a lie.”

Mrs. Bachmann threw Erlich a sinister, withering look. “I know, Erlich. I’m well aware.”

She walked out, the door swinging closed behind her. Erlich watched it, frozen.   
“Don’t worry about her.” Hayworth took a bite of green beans and smiled at Richard. “I’m sure she’s secretly delighted for you two.”

Erlich turned to his brother. The expression was such pure, unadulterated loathing that Richard nearly apologized out of habit. “You’re a fucking cunt, Hayworth. The both of you,” he snarled, then turned on his heel and walked out, leaving Richard alone with the howling couple.


	5. Late Nights and Drunk Erlichs

Around midnight, Richard was starting to worry. Erlich still hadn't returned to his bedroom, and Richard, in his desire to make sure that his friend was okay, ventured down the hall and found himself wandering the mansion.

Just as Richard was planning to settle in and wondering when his body would be found, he finally saw a pool of warm light bleeding onto the wood floor. Pushing open an ajar door, he saw Erlich sitting in a fire lit study, pouring himself a drink. "Richard!" Erlich's glassy eyes lit up in moderate surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you." He pointed at the glass bottle of liquor. "What is that?"

"My dad's scotch," Erlich explained, taking a gulp. 

"Do you think you should be doing that? I mean, what if your mom finds out?"

"This is Napa Valley, Richard. We're WASPs. Everyone here is drunk pretty much constantly." Erlich chugged down the glass in his hand. Richard winced in sympathy for his liver. "But you're right, I should probably be done for the night."

Richard nodded, watching Erlich cork the bottle and stand up unsteadily. "Do you need any help?"

Erlich shook his head. "No. I have something I want to show you." He grabbed Richard's wrist.

"Erlich, that might not be the best idea. Maybe you should get to bed."

"Don't worry about me. Come on. I really want to show this to you."

With a resigned sigh, Richard followed Erlich out into the back of the house. It looked like there was a small town in the backyard. "What is all this?"

"Chapel. Poolhouse. Servants' quarters." Erlich pointed at a shabby brick building. "This actually used to be another set of servants' quarters, but it's mostly just used for storage now." He opened the door, which complained loudly at the movement. "Come check out the upstairs."

"Why? What is all this stuff?" Richard looked around. There were paintings, old exercise equipment, and piles of boxes strewn through what used to be a living room. 

"That's not important. What I want to show you is in the attic."

The two made their way up a winding, narrow staircase. At the top of the third floor, Erlich grabbed a string on the ceiling and pulled. Down came a rickety wooden ladder. "After you," he slurred, waving grandly at the ladder and grinning. Richard obeyed, climbing slowly and unsteadily up. 

"Holy shit," Richard murmured as he crawled onto the attic floor.   
"I know," Erlich smirked. He stumbled in behind Richard and flicked on the light. "Here it is. My sanctum solarium."

If Richard had been forced to guess exactly what a teenage Erlich's bedroom looked like, he would have given a description of this room. The walls, painted a painfully bright lime green, were almost entirely obscured by black light and angsty teen band posters. Lava lamps littered the floor, giving the room an alien glow, and a string of white Christmas lights had been strung around the walls. A bed, looking far more well-worn and comfortable than the one in Erlich's stark childhood bedroom, was pushed against one wall, surrounded by cassette tapes and CDs. A massive stereo stood on a nightstand in the middle of a cluster of beanbag chairs. 

“Holy shit. Did your parents do all this?” 

Erlich laughed bitterly. “Fuck no. I did it all myself with a friend of mine.” He flopped down onto the bed. “I used to come up here to get away from the house. I slept in here more than I slept in my bedroom.”

“Yeah.” Richard sat beside him. “After tonight, I can kinda see why. Are they always like that?”

Erlich rolled his eyes. “Hell yeah. Unbelievable assholes. My brother is a spoiled dick, his wife is a snotty bitch, and my mother is less of a parent and more of an incubator who’s been disappointed in me my whole life.”

Erlich laughed, the scotch making him giddy, but Richard frowned. “What about your dad? What was he like?”

Erlich quieted, but a ghost of a smile stayed on his face. “I’m not supposed to speak ill of the dead.”

Richard nodded and fumbled with the cuffs of his hoodie. “Well, you know,” he said carefully, “I don’t think the whole Aviato thing is a big deal. What your brother was saying, about your dad buying you out? I mean, you were right. He was a pretty successful guy. He probably thought you had a great idea.”

Erlich snorted. “I appreciate the sentiment, Richard, but don’t bother. Hayworth was right.” He fell back onto the mattress, looking up at the ceiling. “He wanted me out of the house.”

Richard laid back beside him. The idea of being on his back in a bed with Erlich was making his heart race, but he couldn’t seem to deny himself the opportunity. “Well, then he sounds like kind of a dick. There’s no reason he should have wanted you gone.” 

Erlich looked at Richard and smiled. Richard’s breath hitched. “Thanks,” Erlich mumbled. “That’s actually really cool to hear.”

Richard shrugged. “It’s true. You’re a really good guy. You’re smart, and you’re a great businessman, and you’re…” Richard clamped his mouth shut before he could finish with the words _really handsome_. Still, it was true. Even when he didn’t really look like Erlich, there was something undeniably charismatic about him. Something about his smile, maybe.

_Holy fuck, Richard, stop thinking about his smile._

“This one time,” Erlich said, and his voice and conspiratorial, “Galina went back to Russia for two weeks to visit family, and I stayed up here for nine days. Never left the room. No one in my family ever knew about this, so I figured they would start to panic about me. I figured that when I finally came back, my parents would be nervous wrecks and that they would have called the police or something.”

“And what happened?”

Erlich smiled sadly. “They never asked me anything. They didn’t notice I wasn’t around.” 

Richard felt a small pang in his chest. He nudged his hand closer to Erlich’s until their fingers were just touching. “I’m sorry. That’s really shitty.”

“Yeah. It kinda is.”

Silence enveloped them, and Erlich’s eyes drifted closed. Not wanting him to fall asleep just yet, Richard asked the question that had been nagging at him all night. “So, what’s Camp Willhelm?” 

Erlich took in a sharp breath. His body had gone rigid. “It’s nothing.”

“Dude, you looked like you were going to kill your brother when he mentioned it.” Richard tried to swallow, but his mouth was dry. “You can tell me. It’s okay.” 

“There’s really not much to say. It’s a camp where they sent problem kids. A kind of rehabilitation place, almost. Where they tried to fix us.”

Erlich’s voice shook. Richard couldn’t tell if it was with sadness or fear. Softly, he ran his thumb over the back of Erlich’s hand, trying to comfort him.

Erlich jumped up so quickly that Richard nearly gave himself whiplash looking up at him. “We should go,” he said shortly. “We have to get some sleep before the visitation tomorrow. You have a lot of rich assholes to chat up.”

Following Erlich back to the house, he couldn’t decide if he felt more guilty or worried. He had never seen Erlich so vulnerable – and now, he might have ruined his chance to ever see it again.


	6. Gratuitous Masturbation Chapter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Self-indulgent masturbation scene!

   
 _If I ever have the money to buy a mansion, I’m going to put five space heaters in every room,_ Richard thought dimly as he rolled out of bed, shivering. The cavernous room was freezing, and he couldn’t help but wonder what the point of being rich was if you ended up dead from hypothermia before you could even fully enjoy it. Teeth chattering, Richard scurried to his suitcase and immediately started rooting around for clothing before jogging to the bathroom.

After the previous night’s drama, Richard had completely forgotten that his and Erlich’s rooms were connected by the bathroom. Admittedly, even if he had remembered, he still probably wouldn’t have been prepared for what he found.

Oblivious to the door opening, Erlich was leaned against the shower wall, head tilted back and moaning. The glass was completely unfrosted and the shower was wide enough for the walls to be clear of water, so Richard was treated to a completely unrestricted view of Erlich stroking himself under the jetstream. 

Simultaneously, Richard’s heart jumped into his throat, his stomach somersaulted, his cock twitched, and he let out an involuntary “fuck” that he hoped sounded way less aroused to Erlich than it did to himself. 

Erlich jumped and quickly grabbed a loofah, trying to hide his (impressively large, Richard noticed) dick behind it. “Jesus fuck! What are you doing?!” 

“Sorry!” Richard held his clothes in a bundle against his crotch, praying that Erlich hadn’t seen his steadily growing erection. “Shit, I forgot it was the only bathroom down here!”

“Why the fuck wouldn’t you bother to knock?!” 

“I forgot! I’m sorry!” 

“Jesus fucking Christ, Richard!” 

“I know!” Richard realized he was still staring at Erlich’s body and dropped his gaze, fumbling with the door handle. “Sorry, sorry, I’ll go, sorry, let me know when you’re done!”

Richard stumbled out, slammed the door behind him, and dove back into the bed, hoping the mattress would open up and swallow him whole. 

He had just seen Erlich masturbating.

He had just seen Erlich’s dick.

He had just seen Erlich’s very hard, very enticing dick.

Richard tried everything – chastising himself, pinching himself hard on the thigh, doing multiplication tables – but nothing worked. His cock was still almost unbelievably hard, and he knew there was nothing he could do to stop it aside from the obvious. 

Trying to stay as quiet as possible, Richard reached into his boxers and grabbed his erection, groaning from the touch. He already knew he wouldn’t last long – as often as he had seen Erlich scantily clad in the hostel, never had he imagined that the reality would have been quite so amazing. In his opinion, Erlich’s cock was the perfect length and thickness, and he imagined it was make his ass ache for hours. 

The very thought was equally humiliating and intoxicating. 

This wasn’t the first time Richard had masturbated while thinking of Erlich. The truth was, it happened a lot more often than he was ready to admit even to himself. But the image of Erlich’s naked body and the sounds he had been making created an entirely new kind of need in the pit of Richard’s stomach, and it was growing rapidly out of control as Richard stroked himself. 

“Oh fuck, Erlich,” he allowed himself to breathe in little more than a whisper. He was trying to finish as quickly and quietly as possible to avoid the possibility that Erlich might walk in. 

Then, from the bathroom, Richard heard the moans not only restart, but become gradually louder and louder. Richard closed his eyes and imagined that his hand was Erlich’s, and that those moans were going directly into his ear, murmuring, _”Fuck, Richard, your body is amazing, holy shit, I love you so much…_

Richard chose to ignore the word “love.” He didn’t want to think about why that made him tremble. 

Richard was close, stroking himself hard and fast, panting into the pillow. Just as he was trying to imagine what it would feel like to come on Erlich’s cock, there was a strangled curse from the bathroom. That he had almost been there for that, almost seen and heard it in person, was enough to push Richard over the edge. He bit his lip as he came, trying desperately to stay silent. 

A few minutes later, before Richard’s breathing had quite slowed, the bathroom door opened. Erlich looked at the ground when he said, “All yours.”

“Yup. Okay. Thanks.” Erlich closed the door, and Richard let out a shuddering breath.

_Fuck._


	7. Visitation Confrontation

The visitation felt less like a gathering of mourners and more like a black tie gala. The casket was placed discreetly, out of the way at the head of the room, and most of the guests were holding glasses of champagne and plucking hors d’oeuvres off of trays carried by bored-looking waiters. “Wow,” Richard mumbled. Erlich just nodded – he had arranged his face into the same coldly unimpressed expression that all of the guests wore. As they weaved through the crowd, he leaned in to mutter people’s names and job titles into Richard’s ear. 

An elderly gentleman approached, a sickly thin young woman hanging off his arm. “Erlich.” He extended his hand, which Erlich shook. “Terribly sorry to hear about your father.”

“Thank you, Mr. Roberts.” 

“Of course.” He looked at Richard and frowned. Other than Galina, Richard couldn’t remember anyone actually smiling at him since they arrived. “And who is this?”

“This is Richard Hendricks, my business partner. CEO of Pied Piper.” 

Mr. Roberts looked at Richard expectantly. Richard just gave him a nod and an awkward wave.

“Your father mentioned you had a new business venture,” Mr. Roberts continued. “I understand you had some legal trouble?”

“All behind us now,” Erlich explained, looking edgier with each passing minute. “We won the lawsuit and are moving forward with more support than ever.”

“Good, good.” Mr. Roberts looked over Richard’s shoulder. “Ah, hello, Donald.”

Erlich whipped around, and Richard saw a spark of fear in his eyes. “Don.”

“Erlich.” The man behind Richard was towering and broadly built, with close-cropped salt and pepper hair and brilliantly blue eyes. “So sorry about your father. He was a good man.”

Erlich gulped and nodded. His eyes were glued to the floor.

Don swept his eyes over Richard, and there was a faint hint of disgust in his expression. Richard nervously wiped his sweaty palm on his slacks and extended his hand. “I’m Richard Hendricks,” he stammered. “I’m Erlich’s business partner.”

“Ah, yes. Of course. I’ve heard of Pied Piper. It sounds like quite an interesting venture. I’m Donald Henderson.”

The men all stared awkwardly at each other in silence. Mr. Roberts quietly excused himself and shuffled away.

“So, how did you know Mr. Bachmann?” Richard asked. For once, Erlich didn’t seem like he was capable of carrying out the conversation. 

“Family connections,” Don said shortly. “My son Jacob went to school with Erlich.”

“Oh.” Richard glanced around, searching for anything to say. “Is he here?”

“No. He passed away when he was seventeen.”

Richard saw Erlich’s jaw tighten. “Oh,” Richard said, feeling a blush creeping over his face. “I’m… really sorry.” 

“What happened, happened,” Don said, his voice clipped and businesslike. He glanced at Erlich. “I’m sure that I’ll see you later on, Erlich.”

“Yes, sir,” Erlich replied. His jaw was set and his ears were flushed bright red. He didn’t look as Don made his way back into the crowd.

“That guy seems like a dick,” Richard whispered.

“You have no idea,” Erlich said. He grabbed a glass of champagne and began chugging. 

“My goodness.” Hayworth’s now familiar voice hit Richard’s ears and he felt an almost Pavlovian sense of dread. “I can’t believe Don actually came up to speak with you.”

“Fuck off, Hayworth,” Erlich snapped.

Hayworth laughed. “You never did quite get a handle on the whole ‘sophistication’ thing, did you?” He turned to Richard. “I can only imagine what you go through with him every day. Is it as embarrassing to have him in your company as it is for me to have him in my family?”

Erlich rolled his eyes. “That’s right, _I’m_ the family embarrassment.”

“What are you implying?”

“I’m not implying shit.” Erlich began ticking off indiscretions on his fingers. “Let’s see, which one of us made our parents pay for the maid’s abortion? Which one of us has been pulled over for drunk driving five times? Which one of us has taken millions from our parents to invest in shitty companies?”

“Don’t act so _superior,_ Erlich! It’s not like you’re a model of the self-made man!”

“At least I actually had a product for Father to buy from me, instead of just a bunch of bullshit excuses!”

Hayworth laughed. “I absolutely love how you’re acting like our father never once had to cover your ass for the things you put this family through! He was the one who took care of everything for Camp Willhelm, who paid for the hospital visits… For God’s sake, he paid for Jacob’s funeral! And now you actually have the gall to stand here in front of me and say that I’m somehow this family’s biggest disappointment?”

“Don’t fucking talk to me about Jacob’s funeral.” Erlich’s voice was deadly quiet. 

“Why not?” Hayworth snarled. “Our father had to pay for the entire affair and deal with all of the bad blood that started with the Hendersons while you ran off to some cushy recuperation facility!”

“You know for a Goddamn fact that I never wanted to go to that fucking place!”

People were starting to stop and stare. Richard desperately wanted to pull Erlich out of the fray, but he wouldn’t be moved. 

“Oh, boohoo!” Hayworth yelled. “You caused our family a _world_ of trouble and embarrassment, but no, go ahead and tell me all about how hard things were for you! Why should it matter when you’re such a big success now?” He gestured to Richard. “Hell, you even found a replacement for Jacob! You should be thrilled!” 

Richard expected Erlich to shout back. What he didn’t expect was for Erlich to grab his brother by the collar and punch him square in the face.

Gasps and shocked cries rang out across the room. Richard wanted to dive in and pull the two apart, but he knew he didn’t stand a chance. Instead, several men darted forth and grabbed each of them. Don grabbed Erlich roughly and pulled him away from his brother, shouting, “What do you think you are doing, son? Have some damn respect!” 

Erlich struggled free of Don’s grasp. “He was talking about Jacob!” he bellowed. “Your _son!_ He was making a mockery of your own child’s death!”

“Don’t you talk to me about my son!” Don roared.

“Why? Because you want to forget he ever existed?!” Erlich jabbed a finger into Don’s chest. “You’re a piece of shit father and you know it! If you had even a fucking ounce of love or affection in you, you’d be fucking thanking me!” 

Don just glared. “I think it would be best for you to go,” he growled.

Erlich put up his hands. “You know what? Fucking gladly.” He elbowed his way out of the room.

Richard stayed still, staring at the space that Erlich had left. Hayworth was nursing his rapidly swelling eye. “Do yourself a favor,” Don said to Richard, adjusting his cuffs. “Get away from that man before he can pull you down with him.”


	8. Galina's Story

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this is kind of a bridge chapter and is probably super disappointing. I promise the next one won't be!

Richard didn’t go after Erlich immediately, partially because he still couldn’t go five minutes without getting lost in the massive mansion and partially because he wasn’t completely confident that Erlich wouldn’t try to punch him too. He wandered into the staff dining room, where Galina was smoking a cigarette and knitting. “Richard! Is there something you need?”

“Uh… no. Nope.” Richard glanced around. He’d been hoping to be alone. “Just looking for Erlich. Did he come through here?”

“For a second.” Galina frowned. “I tried to ask him what was wrong, but he was too upset. He left. Did something happen?”

Richard fisted his hands deep into his pockets. “Uh, yeah. He kinda got into a fight with Hayworth.”

Galina’s frown turned into a scowl. “Of course he did. Hayworth has been nothing but trouble since he was a child, always had it out for my zajka. What did he do now?”

“I’m not totally sure.” Richard awkwardly sank into a seat across from Galina. “He kept bringing up something called Camp Willhelm? The thing that really set him off was he said… I’m a replacement for Jacob.”

Galina looked horrified. “He _said_ that?” she gasped. “My God! I always knew he was mean-spirited, but that’s such an awful thing to say.”

“I sorta figured, but, um, who is Jacob? If that’s okay to ask,” Richard added hastily.

Galina bit her lip. “He was Erlich’s best friend. Completely inseparable, the two of them. Friends since they were knee-high. It destroyed Erlich when he died.” She took a deep drag from her cigarette. “He’s the one that found his body, you know.”

Richard’s stomach clenched. “Really?”

Galina nodded. “He had gotten back from that horrible camp – the place was torture for him – and he went to see Jacob. Found him dead in the Hendersons’ pool house.” She looked back at her knitting with shining eyes. “He’d shot himself.”

“Fuck,” Richard whispered. 

“Erlich had to stay at a mental facility for over a month. He was so devastated. He had always been such a bright, cheerful boy.” Galina sighed. “He was never the same after that. He went to college, then dropped out. Spent all of his time alone, tinkering with his computers until his father paid him to leave.”

“Shit.” Richard stood up. “I gotta go find him.”

“Please do. And Richard?”  
Richard turned. Galina was looking at him, her lips trembling. “Please, please take care of that boy. I love him like my own.”

 _I love him too,_ Richard wanted to say, but he couldn’t bring himself to open his mouth. Instead, he nodded and ducked out of the kitchen, trying to find his way back to the servants’ quarters.


	9. A Confession

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Possible triggers: homophobia, gay conversion therapy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, the next chapter is basically gonna be all smut, but I cut it off here for now just so people can skip it easily if they want.

Richard thought about knocking before he went into the attic, but he wasn’t entirely sure what the etiquette was for knocking on a ceiling. Instead, he slowly worked his way into the room. “Erlich, are you in here?”

He heard hurried rustling and sniffles. “Get out of here, Richard,” Erlich croaked. 

Richard scrambled up onto the landing. He saw Erlich hastily wiping his eyes, collapsed on the bed. “Shit. Are you okay?” He crept up to stand in front of his friend. “Fuck, I’m so sorry, Erlich. Your brother is a fucking dick. The shit he said about your friend is… super awful and fucked up and… Shit. I’m just really, really sorry. Galina told me about how close you guys were and…” 

Erlich’s head snapped up. His red eyes were wide. “What? What did she tell you?” He jumped to his feet. “What did she say about it?!” 

“I – nothing?” Richard took a step back. “She just told me he was your best friend, okay? Relax.”

“Oh.” Erlich crumbled back onto the bed and put his head in his hands. “Fuck. Sorry.”

“No, it’s okay, I’m just confused. I…” Richard ran a hand through his hair and sighed. He edged forward again. He realized he’d never seen Erlich look so small. “I’m worried. All that shit Hayworth has been saying and all the stuff with your mom and your friend’s dad and everything is really, you know, freaking me out. It’s like there’s all this shit going on and I can’t help you with any of it.”

“I don’t need help.”

“No offense? But that’s bullshit. I want to help you, but I have to know what’s going on.” Richard sat down beside Erlich on the bed. “What did Hayworth mean when he said I was Jacob’s replacement?”

Erlich rubbed at his eyes and took a shaky breath. “Okay,” he muttered vaguely. “Okay.” He looked up, staring straight forward rather than looking at Richard. “The truth is… Jacob and I… we were more than friends.”

Richard couldn’t tell if what he was feeling was dread or excitement. “What do you mean?”

“I mean… I loved him.” Erlich’s voice broke. “Fuck, Richard, I really, really loved him. And he said he felt the same way about me, and…” He closed his eyes. “For a little bit, it was all perfect. But then Hayworth found out.”

“Oh fuck.”

“Yeah, no shit. I tried to convince him not to say anything, but he told our parents, and they completely freaked out. They said they wouldn’t have it, they wouldn’t have their reputation ruined, all that. So they told Jacob’s parents and they had me sent away.”

“To Camp Willhelm?”

Erlich nodded. “It was one of those gay conversation camps,” he said flatly. “I was there for two months. It was a fucking nightmare. Electric shock, aversion therapy, all that bullshit. They made us fucking role play with girls and all this shit, having them lay on top of us and…” He ran a hand through his hair. “It was the worst place I’ve ever been. The absolute worst. I called my parents every single day, begging them to take me back home.”

“And they wouldn’t?” Richard whispered, horrified.

“Wouldn’t even think of it. They said they didn’t believe me.” Erlich gave a huff of disgust. “It’s not like fucking girls was the big problem. Fucking them feels fine. Close your eyes and it can feel okay.” He gulped. “The hard part was finding someone I actually loved and cared about. And I did it, and…

“They finally let me come home. Apparently they talked to the camp advisors and they said I was ‘cured.’ I was so happy to be going home. I didn’t even give a shit how mad I was at my parents. I just wanted to see Jacob again.

“I showed up at his place. Apparently his dad was a little less convinced that I’d been bullied into heterosexuality and yelled at me to leave, said he never wanted me to see his son again.”

Erlich stopped short, pressing the heels of his hands into his eyes. “I should have listened,” he whispered. “I should have just stayed away and let Jacob get on with his fucking life. But I just wanted to see him, at least once, just to tell him I still cared about him. I snuck into his place at night and we talked, and it felt so good, and I thought that everything would be okay, but… but his dad found me sneaking out.”

Richard had to hold himself back from putting his arms around Erlich.

“So I went back the next night,” Erlich explained. “Like a fucking idiot. I just wanted to see if he was okay. That’s when I found him.” 

“Oh my God.” Richard watched as Erlich huddled over in pain, sobbing in earnest now. He put a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “Erlich, I’m so sorry.”

“It was my fault!” Erlich gasped, shrugging off Richard’s hand. “It was my fault the whole thing happened in the first place! If I hadn’t been so fucking selfish, if I’d just let him go –“ 

“Nothing that happened was your fault,” Richard murmured. “You didn’t do anything wrong. You were just trying to show him you cared about him.” He waited quietly, stroking Erlich’s back as his sobs began to slow. “I’m really sorry about what your brother said. That was incredibly fucked up. I know that you’re not using me as some kind of weird replacement. I know you wouldn’t do that.”

Erlich watched him with red-rimmed eyes. “Yeah?”

“Of course. Jacob was really important to you.”

“You’re really important to me too,” Erlich said quietly.

Richard had to fight back a blush. “Thanks. I mean, I know. But I know you’re not… I’m not him, you know? And I know that. Because otherwise I would know, right?” He stood and started pacing. “I would know that there was something like that going on. And your brother is just trying to use me to hurt you and everything, I know it’s not like…” He trailed off, seeing a look of growing fear on Erlich’s face. “What? Are – Are you okay?”

Erlich was shaking, looking up at Richard with wide, puppyish eyes. “Richard, please, please don’t be mad at me.”

“For what?”

“Because I…” He cleared his throat. “I’m not using you to replace Jacob, okay? I promise you that. Jacob was Jacob and he’s not coming back, and I get that, and honestly you two aren’t even that much alike.”

“Yeah, I know, Erlich.” Richard was trying not to sound hurt. “I just told you that.”

“No, no. Listen.” Erlich bit his lip. “What I’m trying to say is, you’re not a replacement. You’re a lot more important to me than that.”

Before Richard knew what was happening, Erlich had wrapped his arms around Richard’s waist and buried his face in his stomach. In a shuddering, muffled voice, Richard heard a tumble of words coming from Erlich. “I love you, Richard, I really love you, and I’m so, so sorry, and I promise I won’t fuck anything up for you, I won’t tell anyone or do anything and it’s okay if you hate me and are fucking disgusted by me or whatever, but please please _please_ just don’t leave me.” Richard could feel Erlich’s tears soaking through his shirt. “Please don’t leave. I won’t hurt you, I won’t even talk to you if you don’t want, but just please don’t leave me alone because of this.”

Richard was frozen in shock. He thought for a moment that his heart had stopped, but he could hear it pulsing in his ears. He looked down at his friend’s shaggy head in amazement, feeling Erlich trembling all around him. He put a hand on Erlich’s head. “Erlich, I –“ 

“I’m not expecting anything from you, Richard, I swear,” Erlich said, tilting his head up to meet his eyes. Naked panic was etched into every detail of his face. 

“That’s not – I don’t – ugh, fuck it, just shut up,” Richard stammered, and he pressed his lips against Erlich’s. 

Richard had always heard all of the trite comparisons to fireworks, but he never really understood it until this moment. He remembered vaguely back to the time before the massive display, watching the sky fade from pink to purple to black, surrounded on all sides by tiny snippets of chatter, all these insignificant details that served no purpose other than to fill time until the fireworks started. By then, out of nowhere, there would be a soft whistling sound followed by an explosion of twinkling color, and everything else would fade away beneath the beautiful rarity of the fireworks show.

Richard felt like he had been waiting his whole life for these fireworks to start, and he couldn’t have been happier that they finally began. 

He pulled back, looking down at Erlich, who was wearing an expression of mixed bewilderment and joy. “What… the…”

“I don’t know.” Richard knew he sounded lame and he normally would have wanted to slap himself, so why was he still just standing there, grinning like an idiot in Erlich’s arms. “I love you too. Seemed like a good way to tell you.”

“You do? Seriously?”

“Yeah, I do. If, uh, that’s okay.”

Erlich barked out a small laugh before pulling Richard to him, their lips meeting again in a much more hurried, forceful, sloppy kiss, with Richard curled awkwardly up in Erlich’s lap and encircled by his arms. Richard kissed until his head spun, and he pulled back, punch drunk. “Erlich, I… I think I want…”

“Okay.” Erlich was grinning ear to ear. “But can you do one thing for me?”

Richard nodded. He didn’t think there was anything he could deny him at this point.

Erlich pulled him closed and murmured in his ear. “Let’s go slow, Richard. We’ve got plenty of time to go fast, but right now, I want to remember all of this. Every second.”

Richard trembled at Erlich’s warm breath on his neck. “Agreed,” he stammered, and he pulled Erlich in for another blistering, deliriously happy kiss.


	10. The Smut Chapter

Richard shifted in Erlich’s lap until he was straddling him, moaning when he felt how hard Erlich was. The taller man slipped his hands under Richard’s shirt, his fingers drifting over the smooth skin of his sides. Richard cradled Erlich’s face in his hands. “I miss your beard,” he mumbled vaguely, and Erlich laughed. 

“I can grow it back for you when we get home.” 

The idea of this continuing when they went back to Palo Alto was absolutely dizzying. A hundred questions and anxieties sped through Richard’s mind, but he shut them out, wrapping his arms even tighter around Erlich. _You’ll figure it out later. Right now you’re making out with the guy you masturbated to this morning. Focus, idiot._

Richard gasped when Erlich unzipped his fly and began teasing the head of Richard’s cock. “You know,” Erlich murmured, his breath warm against Richard’s neck, “this is all I could think about in the shower this morning.”

Richard’s cock twitched. “Really?”

“Yeah. Thinking about touching you like this, you whimpering and moaning and begging, about how your cum would taste…”

Erlich’s hand moved away and Richard whimpered. “Like that sound right there,” Erlich smirked. “Seeing how desperate you are for me… Fuck, Richie, the thought of making you cum is too much for me.” He slid his hands under the waistband of Richard’s boxers, groping his ass. “Have you even noticed how you tease me? The way you bend over to show off that cute little ass and then you look at me with those big, innocent blue eyes?”

“Honestly?” Richard’s voice was trembling. “I did some of that on purpose.”

Erlich pushed Richard back onto the mattress, grinning. “I knew it.” He ripped Richard’s shirt open and roughly divested him of the rest of his clothes. Richard was left naked and shuddering beneath him as Erlich’s hands ran up and down his chest. “Fucking Christ, Richard,” he breathed. “You’re so fucking gorgeous.”

Richard blushed. “Erlich…” 

Erlich silenced him with a slow, passionate kiss. 

Richard took hold of Erlich’s suit jacket with shaking hands. “Can I?” he whispered. At Erlich’s nodded, he slowly pushed the jacket back. As quick and rough as Erlich had been, Richard was as slow and gentle. He planted a kiss beneath every carefully undone button, noting every gasp and moan he heard. His mouth watered when he freed Erlich’s cock from his boxers. He had known it was big from the glance he got that morning, but he hadn’t realized how thick and perfect and delicious it was. He flicked his tongue experimentally over the tip and earned a loud moan. Almost in a trance, he took the head of Erlich’s dick into his mouth, swirling his tongue around it and tasting the salty, sticky precum that was already starting to gather. It took a few tries, but he eventually managed to relax his throat enough to take the entire length and begin sucking in earnest. Shyly, he glanced up at Erlich to find him looking down at him, running a hand through Richard’s hair and guiding his movements. “God, you look amazing like this,” Erlich groaned hoarsely. He pulled Richard’s head back. “If I see you do that for one more minute, I’m gonna cum.”

“Do you want me to…?”

“No.” Erlich pushed Richard back again, settling himself between his legs. “I want to make you cum first. And I want to see your face when I do.”

Erlich reached down to stroke Richard’s cock, and Richard let out a small whine. “Don’t!” he begged. “Please, I… I don’t want to cum yet!”

The redhead smirked slyly. “What do you want me to do, baby?”

Being called “baby” made Richard’s head spin. Blushing and reveling in his embarrassment, he whispered, “I want you to fuck me. I want you to make me cum with that big hard cock.”

Erlich let out a low growl. He began nipping at Richard’s neck, sucking on the sensitive skin there, and digging around in the nightstand. After a moment, Richard heard the snapping of a bottle cap and felt something cold and slick against his ass. Almost torturously slow, Erlich slipped a finger and then two into Richard, scissoring and working him open. Just when Richard thought he would cry from frustration, he felt the thick head of Erlich’s cock at his entrance and slowly, achingly, Erlich pushed into him.

Richard cried out – the pain of it was so good, it was making him see stars. “Please,” he begged. “Please, please, faster, harder, I want you to fuck me!” 

“You sure, baby?”

“Fuck yes! I’ve been thinking about you doing this for months, I can’t wait any longer. Please just fuck me hard!” 

Erlich obeyed. Wrapping his arms around Richard, he began thrusting roughly, every inch of his thick cock making Richard’s ass throb with pain and pleasure. Richard had tried using his fingers before, but nothing compared to being so full and thoroughly pounded into the mattress. A constant stream of moans and curses flowed from his lips without his notice, and he wrapped his legs as tight as he could around Erlich’s waist, reveling in how small and delicate he felt in the bigger man’s arms. “If I’d known had desperate you were for my cock, I would have done this months ago,” Erlich crooned in Richard’s ear. “Bent you right over the work table, showed everyone how good I could make you feel, how fucking beautiful you are and how Goddamn lucky I am to be the one that gets to fuck you…”

_”Fuck…”_

“Taking this tight little ass after every meeting, fucking you in the back of the car until you screamed…”

“Oh God, Erlich…”

“Every time we were alone at Hanneman’s, I thought about taking you in every single room of that fucking place, until you could barely stand, and I would just hold you, carry you into my bedroom, kiss and lick and worship every inch of you…”

Richard’s words dissolved into keening moans. Erlich was hitting _that_ spot inside of Richard and doing it do perfectly, so hard, that he was nearly overwhelmed with the pleasure of it. 

“God, Richie, I could do this to you forever,” Erlich panted. “You feel so fucking good on my cock. I’m gonna fuck you like this every single day, baby, so I can see how fucking gorgeous you look when you cum.” He grabbed Richard’s chin, forcing their eyes to meet. “Please cum for me. Show me how fucking pretty you are when you cum.”

Erlich’s words mixed with his powerful thrusts were too much. Richard had never imagined he could cum without a single stroke of his dick, but he pushed over the edge, crying out, watching Erlich’s hungry expression as he shot onto his stomach and tightened almost impossibly more around Erlich’s powerful cock. Overwhelmed, Erlich pulled Richard close for a kiss, crying out into his mouth as he came inside of Richard. 

They held each other, kissing hastily as their breathing slowed. Erlich’s lips worked down Richard’s neck and onto his stomach, and he took a long lick, scooping up a mouthful of cum. Richard’s cock throbbed again at the sight.

Erlich pulled out gently. Richard could feel his cum starting to dribble down his thigh as Erlich held him close. “Fuck,” Richard finally mumbled, and Erlich laughed. 

“Yeah, no kidding. Jesus.”

“Was it as good as you expected?”

Erlich grinned and kissed Richard’s forehead. “It was better than I could have ever imagined. You’re incredible.”

“You too. You know, I actually jacked off this morning after seeing you in the shower.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. You’re kind of a sex god.”

Erlich just chuckled in reply.

The two went quiet, Richard’s head on Erlich chest, listening to the steady thump of his heart, his eyes drifting shut. “I really love you, Erlich.”

Erlich’s arms wrapped tighter around Richard, encircling him in warmth. “I love you too, Richard.”


	11. Afterglow

It was dark when Erlich and Richard made their way back to the mansion, creeping through the eerily silent halls and moving up to Erlich’s wing. “So this is your bedroom,” Richard said, looking around the cavernous space. It was even bigger than Richard’s guest room, with a massive, plush bed in the center, a fireplace, and a sitting area. 

“Yup. This is it.”

“Not to be a dick, but, uh, I think I like the other one better.”

Erlich nodded, a small smile on his face. “Yeah, me too. But good things have happened in here too.”

“Like what?”

Erlich took Richard’s hand. “Like having you here.”

Richard blushed. At a loss for words, he followed Erlich to the bed, inching beneath the thick comforter. He settled his head on Erlich’s shoulder. “Y’know, I just realized something weird.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. I’ve never seen your bedroom at the hostel before.” 

Erlich frowned. “Of course you have. I’m sure you have.”

“Um, nope. You always keep the door closed and I never went in there.”

“Seriously? Huh.” Erlich ran an absent-minded hand over Richard’s curls. “I think you’re right. That is weird.”

“Yeah.” A flare of anxiety welled up in Richard’s stomach. He tried to shove it away and preserve the peace that he’d felt so fortunate to find over the past few hours, but no matter how many times he told himself to be quiet, the words still tumbled out. “So, uh, you said earlier you were gonna grow your beard back?”

“Yeah. Why?”

“Well, you said you’d be doing it for me. When we got home.”

“And?”

“Well, like, does that mean… You know…”

Erlich sat up, looking at Richard with the skeptical, haughty expression that never failed to make Richard feel small and stupid. Maybe it was in light of recent developments, but Richard thought he could see a note of worried insecurity this time. “What are you trying to ask me, Richard?” Erlich’s voice was cold, but Richard could feel his heart starting to pound under his fingertips.

Erlich, he suddenly realized, was _scared._

And, stranger yet, he was probably scared a lot more often than Richard would ever guess. 

Which meant it was up to Richard to be a little vulnerable this time.

“I’m saying that I’m afraid you won’t feel the same way when we get home,” Richard admitted. “I’m afraid that you’re going to realize that all of this was a mistake and that, I don’t know, I was just what you needed in the moment and that you’re done with me. Or that the guys are going to be the fucking worst about all of this and that, I don’t know, it’ll make you regret everything.” He wrapped an arm around Erlich’s chest. “It’s just, I feel like I just got all of this, you know? Like I finally actually have something good. And I don’t want to lose it.”

Richard heard a small sniffle before he felt Erlich burying his face in his hair. “Fuck,” he muttered. “You’re not gonna fucking lose me, Richard. I’ve loved you ever since I met you, and there’s not a single ounce of a chance in hell that I’m going to let some chode-gargling fucks like Dinesh and Gilfoyle ruin that. Or _fucking_ Jared.”

Richard couldn’t hold back a laugh. “What is it with you and Jared?”

“He hugged you.”

Richard pulled back and stared at Erlich’s defensive face. “Sorry, _what?”_

“At Tech Crunch! He fucking cuddled right up to you! What the fuck was that? I mean, first you brought him into the company, and he was just fucking fawning over you and everyone was acting like he was so fucking perfect!” Erlich’s rant was a like a bursting dam – tumultuous and disturbingly fascinating to watch. “Like, you thought I wasn’t good enough to help you with Pied Piper –“ 

“You told me you weren’t going to help with Pied Piper!”

“Well yeah, but only because I didn’t know how!”

“And you didn’t think that was a problem?”

“I could fucking look it up on Wikipedia! I could figure out how to write a way better business plan than fucking _Jared!”_ Erlich snapped. “And the way he’s always hovering around and trying to spend time with you and the way he looks at you, it was so fucking obvious he has a thing for you, and he’s all fucking skinny and tall and shit –“

“What does that have to do with anything?!”

“Because I know what I look like, Richard!” Erlich said impatiently. “Jesus, why do you think I’m so charismatic? I kind of fucking have to be. And Jared’s not good-looking or anything, but he doesn’t look anything like me and he’s tall as a motherfucking redwood! And he’s constantly eyeballing you and then he fucking _slept in your room_ -“ 

“Because you wouldn’t take him!” Richard was putting a lot of effort into sounding angry, but he couldn’t quite make himself feel it. There was just something way too flattering about the fact that Erlich had spent the past year feeling jealous.

“That doesn’t mean I wanted you to take him!” 

“So I was just supposed to let him live on the street?”

“No! I mean… I don’t know!” Erlich’s face was starting to go pink. “But then he slept with you and the next day he was acting all giddy and shit and you were being kind of awkward and I guess I thought that, you know…”

Richard’s jaw dropped. “You thought – what?”

“It’s not like it’s completely ridiculous! He’s constantly eye-fucking you!”

Richard wanted to reply, but before he could think of anything to say, he burst out laughing. “You thought – oh my God – you thought that I – I had sex with _Jared?”_

“Yes.” Erlich seemed to be trying to retain what little dignity he could. 

“Oh my God!” Richard laid back, clutching at his stomach and howling. “You thought I fucked _Jared?_ For how long?!” 

“Honestly? Up until this conversation.”

Richard wiped at his eyes, taking in deep, gulping breaths and trying to temper his hysterics. He continued giggling in spite of himself. “So you’re telling me that you’ve spent, what, months thinking that Jared and I were having sex?”

Erlich shrugged moodily. “You two are just always so… friendly. It kinda worried me, I guess.”

Richard put a hand to Erlich’s cheek, still grinning when he looked into his eyes. “You have nothing to worry about. Seriously.” He curled into Erlich’s side. “I love you. I’ve been in love with you for a while now. I don’t feel this way about anyone else. Fuck, I’ve never felt this way about anyone else. And I would tell you how long it’s been since I got laid if I thought that would help, but it’s honestly kind of embarrassing.”

“Yeah? How long?”

Richard ducked his head to hide his blush. “Um… Ever?”

“What? Seriously?”

“Yeah.”

“You mean tonight. With me. That was the first time you’ve ever…?”

“Yes, okay? Can we not get into this please?”

“Okay, okay. That’s cool.” Erlich played idly with Richard’s hair, apparently dumbstruck. “It’s just… I don’t know. Is it weird to say thank you?”

“Kinda.”

“Okay. Then I won’t say it.”

“Thanks.” Richard looked up with a grateful smile. He was happy to see that Erlich’s expression had softened. “And just so you know, I like how you look. You’re the hottest person I’ve ever met.”

For a moment, Erlich seemed overwhelmed. He kissed Richard hard, holding him tightly, as though he was afraid he might slip away. When their tongues met, Richard whimpered. 

Erlich pulled back, his eyes darkened with lust. “Think you’re ready for your second time?”

Richard sat up, crawling into Erlich’s lap and slipping his hand into his lover’s boxers, earning him a groan of pleasure. “Yeah,” he said with a small smile. “I think I’m ready.”


End file.
